Addition of Complex Optical Signals in a Compacted Autoidolon

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Abstract
In the present work addition or/and subtraction of complex optical signals is obtained without the aid of any optical accesories such as lenses or spatial filters. In the self-addition process the properties of periodic optical objects are used. The principle of self-addition involves coherently illuminating a suitable periodic object. The object is composed of several various transmittances which represent the optical signals which are to be added. The transmittances are grouped and periodically spaced in sets of mutually shifted sublattices of the compound object. When the object is coherently transilluminated, then the images of the sum and difference of the transmittances appear in its diffraction light field. The effect of forming multiple images, called compacted autoidolons, in the diffraction light field of periodic transmittances is here described and demonstrated experimentally.